Lathe for the manufacture of artificial limbs



(No Model.) ZShets-Sheet 1. J. E. HANGER.

LATHE FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF ARTIFICIAL LYIMBS. No. 339,879. Patented Apr. 13, 1886.

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(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. J. E. HANGER. LATHE FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF ARTIFICIAL LIMBS. .N'O. 339,879. Patented Apr.-13, 1886.

I JV VEJV T0113 V//// V// 7///////////////////////////// w UN TED STAT S PATENT ()FFICE.

JAMES HANGER, OF RICHMOND, VIRGINIA.

LATHE FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF ARTIFICIAL LIIVIBSL SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 339,879, dated April 13, 1886.

Application filed October 1, 1885.

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, James E. HANGER, a

citizen of the United States of America, residing at Richmond, in the county of Henrico and State of Virginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Lathes for the Manufacture of Artificial Limbs; and I do hereby declare the following to bea full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters or figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in lathes which are designed especially for the manufacture of artificial limbs, the leading objects of my invention being to provide a lathe or machine which can be utilized in making a socket for an artificial limb from a plaster or other mold of the stump; also providing such a machine wit-h means whereby the socket or interior cutaway portions of the artificial limb maybe made either larger, smaller, or of the same size as the pat tern or mold.

Another object of my invention is to provide a mechanical means whereby the interior of the artificial limb can be made or patterned from the exterior; and, further, in providing the lathe with means for making the limb longer or shorter, larger or smaller, in diameter.

My invention also consists in the method or process of manufacturing artificial limbs, and in the construction of a lathe with its attachments, as will be hereinafter set forth.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a side view of a lathe constructed in accordance with my invention, and especially adapted for the manufacture of the sockets of artificial limbs from a pattern. Fig. 2 is an end view of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken through the line :0 ac of Fig. 2. Figs. 4 and 5 are detail perspective views. Fig. 6 is a detail perspective view of aholder, which is used in shaping the interior of an artificial limb after the same has been shaped; and Fig. 7 is a perspective View of the guide which bears upon the exterior or shaped pattern of Serial No. 178,737. (No model.)

the limb in cutting away the interior, so as to make a shell. A represents the main frame, which preferably consists of the A-shaped uprights a a a, which are rigidly attached to each other by longitudinal rods 1, 2, and 3. The drivingwheel 4 has a bearing upon a stub-shaft,which is attached to the upper portion of the upright a", and said driving-wheel is connected by a belt to a pulley, 5, which is rigidly attached to the shaft 6, said shaft being provided between the uprights a and a with a wide pulley, 7, which is rigidly attached thereto. The shaft 6 carries at its opposite end a pulley, 8, which has a flat outer surface, against which the friction-wheel 9 will contact, and in order to secure a firm contact between this pulley and the friction-wheel the shaft 6, adjacent to the hub'of the pulley and between the upright a, is encircled by a spiral spring, b.

The friction-wheel 9 hereinbefore referred to is mounted upon a vertical rotating shaft, 0, which is provided with a feather, 0, and upon this vertical shaft slides the friction-wheel 9, which is adjustable thereon, the upper portion of said friction-wheel having a sleeve which is embraced by the clutch, said clutch having pivotally attached thereto a rack-bar, d, which meshes with the pinion d,which can be turned by means of a crank-arm so as to adjust the rack-bar and friction-wheel. It will readily be seen that by moving the friction- Wheel 9 to different sides of the center of the flat face of the pulley S, the direction of the rotation of the shaft 0 will be changed, and by adjusting the friction-wheel to and from the center of the pulley 8 the speed of the same with relation to the driving -wheel will be changed. The upper end of the shaft 0 is provided with a worm-screw, c, which is rigidly attached to the same, and engages with agearwheel, 6, which gear-wheel is moved by the same, so as to turn the shaft E, which carries the screw-threaded bar E, as shown in Fig. 4. The outer end of the shaft E, adjacent to the upright a of the frame, has rigidly attached thereto a disk with an inner flange, a ring having gear-teeth being placed upon said disk so that it can rotate thereon when the outer disk is loosened. A crank-arm, f, is attached to the outer disk, which fits over the end of the shaft and the toothed ring. This outer disk is provided with inwardly-projecting pins, which enter perforations in the disk attached to the shaft. The disk e is clamp d up- 5 on the gear-wheel e by a thumb-screw,f,which passes over to the threaded portion of the outer end of the shaft E. I Between the uprights a a of the frame is journa-led a shaft, B, having pulleys B and B, the belt 0 passing over the pulleys 8 and 13, while the'belt D connects the pulley B with a drive pulley, g, which is attached to the spindle F, which carries the cutting-tool.

By means of the gearinghereinbefore de- 15 scribed, it will-be noted that when the main driving-pulley 4 is rotated motion therefrom at an increased ratio will be communicated to the spindle of the cutting-tool in 'one'direction while the shaft E'may be rotated in either direction, so as to carry the movablecarriage, which is mounted on the rod 3i n either direction and at any desired rate of speed. A carriage, G. is pivotally attached to the rod 3, so that it can rock and be moved longitudinally thereon. Between the members h and h of. this carriage is located a grooved drivingwheel, H, which has av bearing on the rod 3, the hub of said wheel having a grooved pulley, h, rigidly connected there- 0 to. The belt which passes over the driving-wheel H also passes over the pulley 7. The pulley h drives the pulley t' and the shaft i upon which the pulley t'" is located also carries a pinion, I, which meshes with a cog-wheel, I, which is secured to the shaft J. The cogwheel I meshes with a pinion, I, which moves upon a stationary shaft attached to a projecting portion of the member h of the movable carriage G, and a cog-wheel, 1", also 0 meshes with said pinion, so that the cogwheels and their shafts will both rotate in the same direction. hen it is desired that these cog-wheels and their shafts will rotate in opposite directions,the pinion 1" is removed and 5 the upper cog-wheel placed so as to mesh with the lower cog-wheel, I, thus changing the direction of the motion of the shafts.

To the inner ends of the shafts J and J are attached baskets or clamping devices for holding the pattern or mold and the blank to be shaped, said baskets being held at their opposite ends by a frame, K, which is attached at its lower end by means of setscrews to the member h of the carriage G.

Upon the shaft 3, between the members It and h of the carriage G,is attached a casting, L, as shown fully in Fig. 4., said casting hav- .ing an outwardlyprojecting portion with a screw-threaded socket, through which passes the screw-threaded rod E. Said casting is also provided with an upwardly-projecting arm,

L, the upper end of which is bifurcated, so as to partially embrace the rod 1, and thus holding said casting uponthe frame while admitting its longitudinal movement upon the rod 3. 1 The casting L is centrally provided with a spring, L, which is connected to the same by having its lower portion formed into an eye which passes around abail, and the upper end of said spring bears against the central 7o portion of the cross-bar of the carriage so as to hold the carriage against the end of the spindle which contacts with the pattern and the cutting-tool. v The opposite end of the spring bears against a thumb-screw, l, which 7 can be adjusted to regulate the pressure of the spring.

To the rod 3, between the uprights a and a of the main frame,is pivotally attached a movable frame, M, which carries near its upper end a socket, N, through which the bar of the guide-mandrel passes. The members m and m of the'frame M, opposite the upper portions of the upright a a of the frame, are enlarged laterally and provided with transverse openings 0, through which the socket of the cutting-tool passes, said socket also passing through openings at the upper ends 'of the uprights a a. The openings 0 are for the purpose of allowing the movable frame M to be adjusted, so that the upper socket can be inovedlaterally or the frameMoscillated. This adjustment is made by means of a thumbscrew, P, which-is attached so as to turn in a bearing, 1), which is secured to the rod 2 be- 5 tween the uprights a a, the opposite end passing through the nut 0', which is pivotally attached bet-ween'the side bars of the frame M. After the movable frame M has been adjusted it can be secured rigidly in the desired position by turning lever g, which is attached to a sleeve with a cam-shaped face, 'as shown in Fig. 5, which will .force said sleeve against the sleeve g, which has a similarly-shaped innerface, thus spreading said sle ves so that their outer edges will contact with the inner sides of the members m and m, adjacent to the openings 0 o, and force them against the'upper ends of the uprights, thus rigidly holding them in position by frictional contact. The socket F, through. which the shaft of the cutting-tool passes, is firmly secured in openings in the upper part. of the uprights a and a, and upon said socket the sleeve having the lever (1 turns. Theshaft of the cutting-tool is rotated by the beltD,' which passes over the pulley g, hereinbefore 7 referred to. The socket N, which is attached to the upper end of the oscillating frame M, carries the shaft having the guide-roller which :20 cont-acts with the pattern or mold, and the 7 inner end of said shaft is attached to a sliding block, 0', having ahollow and partially-screwthreaded interior, into which passes thescrewthreaded rod 1, the outer end'of said rod being provided with a hand-wheel, R, whereby the block 0' can be adjusted so as to carry with it the shaft and the guide-roller. The sliding or adjustable block r is provided with, a pointer which passes through a slot in the upper part of the socket, so as to point to gage-marks thereon, by providing the'shafl. of the guide-roller with means whereby it can be adjusted longitudinally, and from a pattern I 1 am enabled to make a correspondiugly-shaped article, the length of which will be greater or less, according to the adjustment of the shaft. The end of the shaft 12 has attached thereto an arm, n, which carries a wheel, a", which rotates upon the arm, said wheel being located to one side of the center of the shaft )1, so that the wheel will enter and ride upon cavities and elevations in the pattern or mold.

The cutting-tool, which is rotated by the pulley 9, may be of any ordinary construction.

The baskets or frames P and P are removably attached to the shafts J and J, and they are provided with flanged rings 2 and p, which have hearings in the circular openings 7.: and k of the frame K, and the mold or pattern, which is secured to the-upper frame or basket, can be attached thereto by any suitable means, as setscrews, clamps, or equivalent devices. The upper basket, P, is intended to hold the mold or pattern having an interior cavity which it is designed to copy, while in the low er basket is secured a blank in which it is desired to make a corresponding shaped cavity.

In making artificial limbs a plaster of-paris casting or mold is first taken of the stump of thelimb, and said mold,when suflieiently hardened, is placed in the upper basket and secured thereto, the carriage being at one end of the machine. The mold or matrix is fastened in the upper basket, having its upper or larger end about flush with the ring of said basket, and as near the center as possible. The blank, having been cut off to proper length, is then fastened in the lower basket opposite to mold, or as nearly opposite thereto as practicable, also as near its center as possible. The guiding-roller is adjusted longitudinally, so that it and the cutter will enter their respective pieces at the same time, or as may be desired, the lateral adjustments being made by means of movable frame M and thumb screw P, so that the cutter will not have too deep a cut. The machine is put into motion and a cut is taken through. The basket is then set for another cut by means of movable frame M and thumb screw P. This operation is repeated till the socket is of desired size. It will be noticed that the oscillating movement of the carriage and basket is governed entirely by the guidewheel 12', against which the surface of the mold is held by the adjustable spring attached to the carriage. This spring yields to the irregularities of the surface of the mold as the guide traverses the entire surface of the mold by the rotation of baskets and longitudinal movement 'of carriage, and produces an oscillation that must correspond exactly with the irregularities of the mold, and these oscillations move the blank to and from the cutter correspondingly. \Vhen the parts are thus adjusted, an exact copy, both as to configuration and size, will be produced.

\Vhen it is desired to copy the pattern, so as to produce a limb having a greater or less length than the mold or pattern, the shaft n is adjusted longitudinally, and when a larger or less diameter is wanted the adjustment is made by moving the oscillating frame M to either one or the other side of the center.

\Vhen it is desired to cut the reverse of the pattern or make the exterior of a right or left limb from a single pattern, it can be done by simply removing the pinion I and reversing the roller L, thus causing the pattern to revolve in one direction, while the blank to be out after the same is revolved in the opposite di rcction.

It will be noticed that the oscillating movement of the carriage and baskets in making a pattern from a mold or matrix is governed en tirely by the guidewheel a of the patternshaft, said mold being held against the wheel by the spring L.

\Vhen itis desired to hollow out a limb or make a shell having an equal thickness, the exterior having been shaped, the baskets P P and the frame K are removed and a frame, W, as shown in Fig. 6, is attached to the carriage. The limb is then secured to the frame \V by means of the set-screws which pass through the rotary sleeve W. the opposite end of the limb being attached by means of a suitable clamp to the shaft J.

A longitudinally-adjustable dog provided with handle 8, and ears, between which is pivoted a lever, as shown in Fig. 7, is attached to the shaft 2 by a set-screw, and when it is desired to use the same it is rigidly attached to the shaft, so that the roller which is mounted at the end of the lever S will be directly opposite the cutt-ing-tool, and so as to leave a space equal to the required thickness of the shell. The dog is provided with a spring, which is located between the handle 8 and the handle 8 of the lever S, and the lever is firmly pressed against a stop in the dog. The spring is of sufficient strength to overcome the strength of the spring L, which bears against the carriage. The object of the spring and pivoted lever is to leave a greater thickness at points desired in the shell by pressing the handles 3 and 8 together.

\Vhen it is desired to turn the exterior ofa right or left limb from an opposite pattern, a straight bar is attached to the carriage in place of the frame W, said bar having perforations for the reception of clamping-screws, which are located on a line with the shafts J J. The pattern is then screwed to the up per shaft, and the blank from which it is desired to out the reverse is attached to the lower shaft, J, the pinion 1 being removed and the gear-wheels 1 and I being placed so as to mesh with each other, so as to cause the pattern and the blank to rotate in opposite directions.

In making a limb as above described, the carriage is tilted, so that it will be out of line or to one side of the roller on the end of the shaft 'n and the cutting-tool.

To make a limb similar to a given exterior IIO pattern the pinion is not removed, and both I ers, and a mandrel and cutter, substantially pattern and blank revolve in the same direction.

In performing any of the operations hereinbefore described, it should be remembered that, if desired, I can make the limb or other object either larger or smaller by moving the frame M, and longer or shorter by moving longit-udinally the guiding-roller.

The lathe herein described may be used for other purposes than in the manufacture of artificial limbs.

I claim 1. The method herein described of making artificial limbs, the same consisting in forming from plastic material a pattern or former, then securing said pattern or former in position to be contacted with by a mandrel guiding and controlling the material presented to the cutter, and then manipulating the parts to cause the cutter to operate upon the material to form the limb-section, substantially as set forth.

2. The method herein described ofmaking artificial limbs, the same consisting in securing a pattern or former in position to contact with a mandrel, guiding and controlling the material presented to the cutter, then adjust-- ing the mandrel out of line with the cutter and manipulating the parts to cause the cutter to have a greater or less travel on said limbsection than that of the mandrel, substantially as set forth.

3. The method herein described of making artificial limbs, the same consisting in causing a pattern or former to approach a mandrel and the limb material to approach the cutter at the same relative speed, and then longitudinally adjusting the mandrel to secure an extended or decreased operation of the mandrel and former compared with that of the material and cutter, substantially as set forth.

4. In a machine for making artificial limbs, the rotating baskets, arranged and operating substantially as set forth.

5. The combinatiomin a machine for making artificial limbs, of the baskets P and P, a cutter and mandrel, and devices for holding said baskets, substantially as set forth.

6. The combination, in a machine for making artificial limbs, of pattern and blank holders, a cutter and mandrel, devices for longitudinally adjusting said mandrel, and meansfor rotating said holders, substantially as set forth.

7. The combination, with the pattern and blank holders, of a cutter, devices for transversely adjusting said cutter, a mandrel, and means for rotating said baskets, substantially as set forth.

8. The combination, with the pattern and blank holders, of a frame carrying the same pivotally connected, as described, a spring, L, and means for regulating the tension ofthe spring, and devices for rotating said hold- 7 as set forth.

as set forth.

9. The combination,with a pattern and blank holders, of a frame carrying the same, athreaded shaft which moves said frame, and devices for rotating said shaft, and means for reversing the rotation of the same, substantially as set forth.

V 10. The combination, with a pattern and. blank holders, of a frame carrying the same,

a shaft upon which said frame travels, devices for rotating a threaded shaft, and hand appliances for rotating the same, substantially 11. The combination, with a. pattern and blank holders, of two vertical standards pivotally secured, a'mandrel carried thereby, and devices, as described, for forcing said standards against the fixed portions of the machineframe, and a cutter, substantially as vand for the purpose set forth.

12. The combination, with a pattern. and blank holders, of vertical standards pivotally secured, a mandrel carried thereby, and a thumb-screw for transversely adjusting said standards, and a cutter, substantially asdescribed. Y

13. The combination, with a blank-holder,

of acutter and a spring-yielding lever for varying the position of the blank relative to the cutter, as set forth.

14. The combination,with the pivoted frame K. of a removable blank-holder, spring L", a

lever secured adjacent to said holder and pro- I vided with a spring-seated guide-arm, substa'u:

tially as set forth.

15. The combination,with a pivoted frame,

of blank and pattern holders, gearing for rotating said holders, and means for changing the direction of the rotation of the patternholder, substantially as set forth.

16. The combinatiomwitli a threaded shaft, of a shaft, 2, a carriage moved by said threaded shaft, and having an arm, L, bearing against said shaft, and devices for rotating said threaded shaft, substantially as set forth.

17. The combination, with a mandrel, of means for longitudinally adjusting said mandrel, an index carried by said mandrel, and a scale for indicating the degree of adjustment of said mandrel, substantially as set forth.

18. The combination, with a mandrel hav- I ing its end portion bent to present an angular 1 arm, of a roller mounted on said angular arm, substantially as set forth.

19. The combination of a sleeve havinga longitudinal slot, of a mandrel bearing in said sleeve and provided with a pin engaging said slot, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

. JAMES E. HANGER. \Vitnesses:

E. W. JOHNSON, HONORA TAYLOR; 

